Product Line - 2020
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Rive Droite Rive Gauche Cotes du Rhone 2020Rive Droite Rive Gauche simply means right bank, left bank and the name derives from fruit for the wine being sourced from both sides of the river - the grenache coming mainly from the left (gauche) and the Syrah from the village of Daumazan (on the rive droite), near Tavel. It is also a French film starring the rotund wine-nut actor Gerard Depardieu - fun fact!This is a lovely fresh and crunchy styled Rhone from our friends at Rive Droite. There is touch of thyme and bay over red spiced fruits, layered with a little bit of red liquorice. This is a medium bodied rendition with a pure core of raspberry, wild strawberry and splash of black berry fruit in the mix. Its lithe with a lovely fresh cut to the sweet fruits that makes this look wonderfully elegant and damn easy to like.
2020Grenache, shirazFrance467$26.00 As low as $23.40 -
Jean Louis Tribouley l'Alba Tribouley 2020Carignan, Grenache and Syrah. Organic viticulture, hand harvest. Blend of different plots on gneiss soils with 8-11 months of elevage. No fining, filtration or additions.
2020Carignan, Grenache, shirazFrance418$51.00 As low as $45.90 -
Coume del Mas 'Schistes’ Collioure AOP Rouge 2020100% old vine Grenache from about 30 different parcels with the fruit is hand-sorted, destemmed, and fermented in stainless steel with nine months in tank. Coume del Mas was created in 2001 by Philippe and Nathalie Gard, modern pioneers of Roussillon. In the early 2000s was Andy Cook who took up the head winemaking role. The15 hectare holdings are composed of gnarly old vines centered around Banyuls-sur-Mer and Collioure.2020GrenacheFrance419$82.00 As low as $73.80 -
Santa Duc Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues 2020Black fruit coulis, intense spice aromas and some smoke on the nose. Powerful and robust in the best possible way, the tannins are remarkably polished for a Rhone red with stacks of mourvedre in it. Very compact core, but also excellent energy on the full-bodied palate. Bold and very structured, but there's a wonderfully delicate sweetness, too. A cuvee of 50% mourvedre and 50% grenache from old vines on the high plain of Gigondas. 75% whole bunch. Matured in a combination of Stockinger oak foudre and clay amphora. (95) JAMES SUCKLING
Dark violet color. The nose presents powerfully scented cherry-cola, blackberry, fruitcake and exotic spice aromas, along with suggestions of licorice and incense. Offers penetrating, finely etched red and dark berry preserve, allspice, candied floral and smoked meat flavors that deepen and become sweeter as the wine opens up. Closes with superb tenacity and building tannins that frame reverberating floral and dark berry notes. (96) JOSH RAYNOLDS
Lastly, and a big step up, the 2020 Gigondas Les Hautes Garrigues is equal parts Grenache and Mourvèdre that was raised in foudres and amphorae. It doesn't have the sheer power or concentration of previous great vintages, but I love its balance, purity, and finesse. Red and black fruits, spicy garrigue, and floral notes make for a classic Gigondas that's medium to full-bodied, has ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It's a gorgeous Gigondas any way you look at it. Give bottles 4-5 years and enjoy over the following 15+. JEB DUNNUCK
2020GrenacheFrance467$180.00 As low as $162.00 -
Santa Duc Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Pied de Baud 2020Fabulous nose of red fruits, summer flowers and licorice. The very complex interplay of huge fine tannins and richness reminds me of Grand Cru Burgundy, but this has a southerly personality. Great velvety finish that goes on and on. Doesn't want to stop. 80% grenache, 10% mourvedre and 10% cinsault (97) JAMES SUCKLING
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Le Pied De Baud comes all from more pebbly soils and is a blend of 80% Grenache and the rest equal parts Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Its medium ruby/purple hue gives way to a medium-bodied, beautifully balanced effort that also has a Pinot Noir-like vibe in its bright red and blue fruits as well as peppery herbs, sappy flowers, and new leather aromas and flavors. The texture is spot on, it's as seamless as they come, and it delivers ripe tannins as well as a great finish. JEB DUNNUCK
2020GrenacheFrance467$170.00 As low as $153.00 -
Santa Duc Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Saintes Vierges 2020Dark and meaty nose, but with terrific freshness. With aeration, wild blackberry and elderberry notes unfold. Very concentrated and structured with a dense and dry core that some may find a bit daunting, but really impresses us. Incredibly focused and fresh finish that's laser beam straight. Iron firmness at the powerful long finish. From a co-planting of 80% grenache, 10% mourvedre and 10% counoise growing on sandy soil. 75% whole bunch. Matured in a combination of Stockinger oak foudre and clay amphora (96) JAMES SUCKLING
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Saintes Vierges comes all from the Les Saintes Vierges lieu-dit and is based on 80% Grenache and 10% each of Mourvedre and Counoise. It was partially destemmed and brought up mostly in foudre with 10% in clay jars. Wild strawberries, darker berries, violets, and an incredible floral, almost tropical nuance on the nose gives way to a medium-bodied, elegant, vibrant effort with a sappy green edge in its tannins that avoids being astringent or off-putting. This fresh, elegant, perfumed beauty will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and drink nicely for a decade. JEB DUNNUCK
2020GrenacheFrance467$170.00 As low as $153.00 -
Casa Castillo La Tendida Monastrell 2021The 2021 La Tendida is the second vintage of this wine from young vines planted between 2006 and 2010 in an area where they are going to keep growing as they transition from the valley to more limestone-rich soils in other parts of the property. It was produced with 75% Monastrell and 25% Garnacha and matured in oak foudre. It has an elegant rusticity compared with Las Gravas or Pie Franco bottlings, with a combination of herbs, flowers, earth and tree bark, with very fine tannins and a chalky finish. It has ripeness, power, elegance and balance. 40,000 bottles were produced. It was bottled in February/March 2023. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate2020Grenache, monastrellSpain411$51.00 As low as $45.90 -
Sara i Rene Viticultors 'Dido' Garnatxa Tinto Blend 2021Sara’s tribute to “youth, tenacity, love and Grenache”. Who can argue …?
Organically grown on a 10 hectare plot of degraded granite (Montsant’s only gravel patch), Dido has been in production since 2005. The blend is 86% co-fermented Garnatxa-Syrah (1/5 is Syrah, which helps the local Garnatxa ferment better), with 7% each Cabernet and Merlot. It’s picked early, and needs to be largely de-stemmed, so the fermentation takes place in two parts. A 15% portion is used as a starter – whole bunches take wild yeast and are covered with sulphur for 8 days. This is then released into the balance of the fruit, de-stemmed and un-sulphured, and away we go. After fermentation in old hogsheads, the wines are long-aged, more than 18 months – a first year in large raw concrete and then a further 6 months or so in large Foudre of 5000 litres.Bright and fresh red cherry fruit marked by mint and other local herbs, the wine shows the clear crunch of granite soil. Juicy and direct with macerated herbs, licorice and briar in lovely pastille fruit. Good concentration, rich-but-not-sweet country wine, it's all briar-herb-cane-brambly, with a nice little nudge of spice, allspice husk and leather in the soft savoury juice and a touch of chocolate in the soft leathery tannin. Clear and direct, with absolutely no wine-making clutter, it is delicately structured and savoury. A smasher!
2020Grenache, RedSpain459$89.00 As low as $80.10 -
Mont Redon Chateauneuf du Pape 2020The classic 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape is straight-up terrific and excels in the vintage. It will be interesting to compare this to the Le Plateau over the coming 20 years or so. Giving up lots of red and blue fruits, violets, flowers, and hints of graphite, it’s medium to full-bodied, has a layered, seamless mouthfeel, beautifully integrated tannins, and remarkable purity as well as length. It’s a brilliant Châteauneuf du Pape from this talented team that readers will love to have in their cellars. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming 15-20 years. JEB DUNNUCK
The deeply fragrant nose pulls you inexorably into this majestic Chateauneuf. So vibrant and refined for this amount of power and concentration. Breathtaking Mediterranean herbal freshness at the super-long finish. JAMES SUCKLING
2020GrenacheFrance467$125.00 As low as $112.50